Nestling among hills 10km northeast of Dobrinishte, the small grey town of ELESHNITSA is unlikely to make much of an impression on the global tourist industry - not least because it's the site of Bulgaria's largest uranium mine. However it's also the venue for some of the most remarkable Kukeri celebrations in the country, which here take place on Easter Sunday instead of January, the usual time for their enactment elsewhere. Each of the town's three mahalas or quarters organizes a team of mummers or kukeri who, dressed from head to toe in sheepskins, converge on the town square, accompanied by a deafening cacophany of drumbeats. They then parade around the square performing crazy, trance-like dances aimed at driving away evil spirits. In theory, the mahala producing the loudest, most frightening display is declared the winner, but few of the onlookers seem interested in the result, concentrating instead on the enthusiastic outbreak of mass folk-dancing which invariably follows the performance.

There are no buses to Eleshitsa on Easter Sunday, so you'll need a car - or a taxi from Bansko - to get there (and back, as there's nowhere in town to stay)